Helpful Information About Professors and Instructors
Faculty is a term that refers to the group of teaching professionals including Professors, Instructors, and Lab Coordinators that teach students. There are many faculty members in Biology, with many focus areas including Neurobiology, Plant Biology, Ecology, Cancer Biology, Developmental Biology, and more.
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Faculty:
- Main job is teaching, research, administration, or other departmental related tasks
- Generally have set hours for which they area available to students and will be in their office called "Office Hours"
- Students are welcome to come to these for help with classwork, test review, or just getting to know your professor
- May teach one class, multiple classes, or coordinate multiple labs in a given semester
Letters of Recommendation & References
Students will need letters of recommendation for many things as they progress toward their professional careers, things like applying to scholarships or graduate schools. Students will also need references for jobs or graduate school, depending on the position. Who you choose as a reference is very important, as these people will need to vouch for your work ethic, character, and qualifications for different roles. For this reason, it is important to choose references who know you well and can describe you with good examples from close personal experience with you. Remember, people are not obligated to provide you with a letter or a reference, and they don't have to give you a good reference, so be sure to choose people you know will speak of you well and do not pursue them if you feel like they may not be able to or want to give you a good enough reference.
Here are some tips for requesting letters of recommendation and references:
- Prepare your resume, consider including a "brag sheet" including your top attributes, GPA, and other important accomplishments to highlight
- Ask your references in person if possible, and ask well before the letter or reference will be due
- Send your materials (resume, brag sheet, etc.) and a formal reference request via email
- Follow-up with them well before the due date for the recommendation and offer any additional information they may need
- Say thank you! Its best to send each of your references a thank you note for doing this favor for you!
Refer to these websites for additional information: